THIS MOTORING YEAR 2016: The cars we most want to drive in 2017

There will be no shortage of desirable new models rolling into Australian showrooms next year, as you can see from our New Car Calendar. In fact, 2017 looks like being a bumper year for new, high-tech heavy metal – one that will cater for fans of both performance and practicality.

Take, for example, Alfa Romeo's new Giulia sports sedan, which will be topped by the BMW M3-baiting QV twin-turbo when it arrives Down Under in February. Then there's Mercedes-AMG's ballistic new E 63 super-sedan and ferocious new GT R super-coupe, both due mid-year.

The 2017 supercar launches roll on with a host of other tasty new entries like the MkII Honda NSX, Nissan GT-R NISMO, Aston Martin D11 and Ferrari GTC4 Lusso T.

At the other end of the scale, who isn't keen to thrash the first turbocharged Honda Civic Type-R to come Down Under, put Land Rover's radical new Discovery 5 to the test in a gnarly bog hole, or sample a couple of promising new Korean rear-drive sedans in the Genesis G70 and Kia Stinger GT?

And let's not forget that in the final year of home-grown Commodore production, we'll also see what will be HSV's finest and fastest model ever – the LS9-powered GTS-R W1  and a trio of MY17 special-editions based on Holden's last Australian-made Commodore.

Here for your reading pleasure and 2017 Christmas wish-list inspiration are a selection of the motoring.com.au gangs individual picks for the best new metal coming next year.

Let the good times roll...

Mike Sinclair - Editor-In-Chief
A Volvo… Yes, a Volvo

I’m interested in whether the Giulia QV will be the real deal or, like the other most recent ‘new’ Alfa Romeo, the 4C, an unbelievably flawed case of the emperor’s new clothes.

I’m keen to see whether Hyundai can build a proper hot hatch. There are a number of 2017-release high performance cars I’m salivating over and the new Disco holds some appeal.

Yes, it’s a disparate lot, petrolhedonist’s wheel wishlist for 2017.

But the car I’m most keen to drive, or rather be driven in, is a Volvo – an autonomous Volvo to be precise.

Volvo kicks off a medium scale trial of autonomous cars on the streets of Goteborg early in 2017 and I’ve put my hand up to be an early crash test dummy. One hopes it doesn’t come to that, but even if there are a few hairy moments, the force is strong.

Like it or not, auto driving is going to be a huge part of tomorrow’s roads. I want to see how close we are to real world implementation – and soon…

Marton Pettendy - 
Managing Editor

Holden Magnum

Based on established track record, the opinions of our well-credentialed correspondents that have driven them and the quality of the cars on which they're based, I've no doubt AMG's new E 63 and GT R will be epic.

And after waiting what seems like decades for a proper rear-drive sports sedan from Alfa Romeo, I can't wait to drive the all-new Giulia QV. The Honda NSX too is a dangling carrot – especially after personally snaring what should have been a first Australian drive of the only NSX press car in the country in December, only for it to conk out before I even got going.

But in reality the car I most want to drive in 2017 is Holden's last Australian-made Commodore.

Of the three even-more-special MY17 limited-editions, including the Chevy SS-spec Motorsport Edition and the luxurious Calais-based Director sedans, the one I'm lusting after most is the Magnum ute. So much so, that I've got my name on the order list.

Holden's finest example of the last Australian-made ute, not only will it be the cheapest of the swansong Commodores, it will also be the most limited in numbers. I can’t wait…

Ken Gratton - Technical Editor
Porsche Panamera

I'm still hanging out to drive the Ford Edge and Land Rover Discovery 5, but there are new targets on the radar for 2017.

While it's a mundane choice, I'm curious about the new generation of Subaru Impreza. But the car that has piqued my curiosity most is the new Porsche Panamera. It received some pretty solid praise from Editor-in-Chief, Mike Sinclair, and is certainly a major advance in style from the current car.

I've driven the Panamera at both ends of the performance scale – the plug-in hybrid and the GTS – and found Porsche's big, brash sedan quite appealing, aside from its looks.

At the very least this new model addresses the visuals — and promises more besides.

If my drive of Hyundai's next-generation i30 prototype is anything to go by, the upcoming ‘N’ performance variant should be a cracker.

As well as being Hyundai’s first real foray in to the hot hatch realm, the i30 N will offer an independent rear-end and turbocharged engine that promise to deliver on both the handling and performance fronts.

Plus, with Hyundai’s long warranty and solid reputation, it is one hot hatch almost certain of providing worry-free motoring.

Further, the five-door hatch offers decent cargo and passenger space, which could make it an ideal alternative to my current-gen i30 Active. I just need to convince the other half…

Staff Journalist
Genesis G70

This is really challenging! But after a three-way battle between the Honda NSX supercar, the Hyundai i30 N hot hatch and Genesis G70 luxury car, it’s the G-car that’s my choice.

Why? The Genesis G70 edged ahead on my list because my back hurts and I like a plush ride and lots of creature comforts. Hardly… But, if I imagine an all-new, high-tech platform with more techno doodads than the Google R&D centre, propelled by a rip-snorting 270kW/510Nm 3.3-litre turbo-petrol V6 that drives the rear wheels, then my giblets become unusually energised.

It's about the same size as a Mercedes-AMG C 43 but rear-drive instead of AWD, more affordable and potentially sexier.

If you thought the Koreans weren't serious about taking on Europe, consider the fact they've dived in behind enemy lines and poached half of Germany's leading auto execs to run Genesis…

Yep, I'm eager for this one.

In an automotive landscape increasingly dictated by green-savvy technology and stringent emissions regulations, it is refreshing when car-makers give us something raw and unadulterated.

Enter the Mercedes-AMG GT R.

The German tuner’s most extreme GT offering to date, the R’s biturbo V8 cranks out 430kW, allowing it to hit 100km/h in just 3.6sec without AWD!

Mercedes’ AMG hotrod division has stripped back the kerb weight, introduced a wider front track and large rear wing for added cornering grip. There is also active rear-wheel steering and adjustable coil over suspension under the 1555kg dynamo.

Sure, alternative propulsion will undoubtedly take another leap forward in 2017, but in the face of all that it’s nice to slip back into something more familiar.

Loud, fast, internal combustion… The GT R looms as that very car.

Contributor
2018 Holden Commodore

It doesn’t actually go on sale until February 2018 but I am pretty sure I’ll get the chance to get behind the wheel of the first imported Holden Commodore sometime in 2017, and I am sort-of looking forward to the experience and sort-of not.

I'm a big fan of the Zeta generation of locally-designed and developed VE/VF Commodores and the dedicated group of engineers, designers and manufacturing people who have done such an extraordinary job of bringing them to market.

It’s been interesting to read some of the reviews of the Opel Insignia prototypes that Holden has been testing and the impression is that traditional Commodore characteristics have been imbued into a car that offers neither rear-wheel drive or a V8 engine.

Right now, I am a bit dubious that such an aim is actually achievable, but I also have a lot of respect for the Holden engineering crew who are working on the car.

A drive of the new Commodore will either confirm my doubts or raise these guys and gals even higher in my estimations.

A bit like a lamb voting for a roast, I’m looking forward to Audi’s A8.

The current E-Class is quite comfortably the market leader in autonomous driving (no, it’s not you, Tesla). It can already change lanes to overtake by itself at 180km/h. I’ve done it, and all you have to do is flick the indicator switch, and even that’s just a legal and philosophical nicety.

The A8 is promising the lift that to the next level of autonomy. I’ve driven an A7 prototype on the autobahn outside Ingolstadt. No taxi throttle, no head jerk, nothing. It eased to the side of the lane to give itself more room to pass big trucks. It sat merrily at 130km/h. It refused to pass a slower car when we were on an inside lane until the speed dropped beneath 80km/h, when it became legal to do so. Plenty of time, too, was given to for me to take over when we had to head off onto smaller roads.

And the overwhelming feeling from all of this was a remarkable shedding of tension inside the car. It so clearly had it all under control that it was unfathomably relaxing.

In a country like Australia, with its distances, speed limits and (over)policing dogma, this is technology that simply can’t come fast enough.

Nadine Armstrong -

Land Rover’s much-anticipated Discovery 5 will be here in 2017 and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel.

It’s well out of character for me to choose a large SUV as the one I’m most looking forward to driving next year, but off the back of a year where I’ve been honing my off-road driving skills, it make a lot of sense.

We recently filmed our latest instalment of 4x4 instructional videos (for intermediate drivers) behind the wheel of the current Land Rover Discovery 4, where it proved highly capable. The Disco’s smart four-wheel-drive technology impressed at every opportunity – including steep terrain and bashing through river crossings.

The next generation promises to be even better – the most capable off-road Discovery ever, Land Rover says. It’ll be on sale mid-year and arrives around 480kg lighter than its predecessor, equipped with a four cylinder turbo-diesel engine and seven seats as standard.

With improved refinement, flexibility and off-road credentials, the new Disco looks set to tick many boxes for the adventurous family in particular.

John Mahoney -

Growing up in the wrong hemisphere I love a good hot hatch. And 2016 has been a truly exceptional year for the performance genre -- from Focus RS to Golf GTI Clubsport S, there's never been a better time to buy one

But it could get better because 2017 is RenaultSport's opportunity to fight back. Alas, it could also be the year the French car-maker's performance brand makes its first truly terrible car.

You see within RenaultSport a war is waging between marketing and the engineers and the performance division has to pay its way from now on.

The suits want a hot hatch loaded with tech so Renault can ramp up the price of the Megane RS to Golf GTI-levels, but that would be a catastrophic mistake. Doing so would turn a back on the glorious raw, focused, and slightly unhinged, models on which RS’ reputation was built.

My greatest fear is the 2017 Megane RS will come equipped with the Renault’s truly hateful 4Control four-wheel steer and the dim-witted dual-clutch gearbox that remains a constant barrier to my enjoyment of the current Clio RS.

Only time will tell, but I hope RenaultSport to create an auto-tech-fest for the softies and a hardcore, lightweight, wheel-cocking maniac for people like me. If it does that it will create yet another hot hatch masterpiece.

Luke Youlden -

Hmmm... a Triple 8 prepared Supercar come October perhaps?

I'm guessing I'm not alone wishing for that but 2017 seems to have a well full of great vehicles to evaluate.

The Alfa Giulia QV is an obvious choice. I'm hopeful, yet doubtful that it can match its German rivals.

Speaking of Germans I'm very much anticipating the AMG E 63 S and its all-wheel drive. I've spent a lot of time in high performance quattro Audi's in recent years and I'm keen to sample the three-pointed star's take on 600hp-plus through all four boots. The BMW M5 has to be in there somewhere too after being amazed by the M2 and M4 this year.

Honda seems to have awaken from a 20-year performance hibernation and the Civic Type R and NSX look to be worth the wait.

But believe it or not, there's something about the much-anticipated Alpine A120 that means it’s the one I want to drive most.

Will the lightweight mid-engine rear-drive Regie be a proper Porsche Cayman fighting sportscar? I hope so – it’s time for the French to connect a punch or least put up a fight against German domination.

Andrea Matthews -

For me, 2017 is about re-imagining the classics with modern day appeal.

Top of the test-drive bucket list is the Bristol Bullet, a classic British roadster reimagined. Powered by a 272kW/500Nm naturally-aspirated 4.8-litre V8 engine from BMW, my drive plans may be hampered as there’s no announcement yet to sell the stunner in Australia. The campaigning starts today…

What do we want? Bristols… When do we want them? Now… Oops, that didn’t quite come out how I expected…

Also incoming from the Brit-pack is a new TVR. Hotly tipped to resurrect the Griffith nameplate, the new sportie will also be powered by a V8 and will be introduced next year ahead of 2018 deliveries. Hopefully also to this side of the world!

Bring on the retro-revival!